Could anyone imagine a situation whereby, in Wales or Scotland, pre-school pupils did not receive even one hour of education in English, only two at primary level and three at secondary? Well, that is exactly what is happening in Catalonia…

On the EUROPP blog, Sonia Sierra and Mercè Vilarrubias discuss the monolingual model in Catalan schools and examine the evidence put forward to support it. They argue that – to the detriment of students in Catalonia – the model is being promoted due to its power as a nationalistic symbol rather than the results it produces.